Four Killed, Three Missing In Separate Accidents

Three people were killed Sunday when their helicopter (type as yet unknown) crashed behind a house in Lamar County (GA). The dead men were identified by Lamar County Sheriff Larry Waller as pilot Wyatt Zane Rogers and passengers Kendall and Kelly Loudermilk, all from Spartanburg (SC).

In another accident, two people are missing after their helicopter went down in Oklahoma's Cimarron River. Local law enforcement officials weren't saying much as of publication time, except that they were scouring the river in boats for signs of the downed aircraft.

"We were told that he (the pilot) was giving rides at a birthday party of some kind," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman John Clabes.

In coastal Louisiana, searchers located the wreckage of a Bell 206L which went down in the bay near Intracoastal City on Thursday. One person is still missing from that accident.

Those on board the 206L were identified as pilot Dan Ditwiler and passengers John Lewis of Lafayette (LA), and Kell Anthony Thibodeaux from Abbeville (LA). The helicopter was en route from Eugene Island to Abbeville when it went down.

The Coast Guard said Ditwiler issued a mayday in storms before going down about 25 miles off the coast. The Bell 206L was registered to Omni Energy Services, which provides seismic surveys to oil and gas prospectors.

FMI: www.faa.gov